Can’t Catch Me and Other Twice-Told Tales
by Michael Cadnum
ISBN: Trade Paperback: 978-1-892391-33-9; Digital: 978-1-61696-274-6
Published: 2006
Available Format(s): Trade Paperback and Digital Books
Description
Available now in Digital Books!
“Turns the familiar on its head, from basilisk to gingerbread man, and makes you forget, for a few charmed moments, that these aren’t quite the tales you thought you knew.”
—Patricia A. McKillip, author of The Forgotten Beasts of Eld and Wonders of the Invisible World
Discover National Endowment for the Arts fellowship-recipient Michael Cadnum’s groundbreaking collection of deftly rearranged myths and fairy tales. Can’t Catch Me, featuring six original tales, rekindles the excitement of adored childhood adventures. These witty, perceptive tales cleverly twist, turn, and veer off into unexpected, enchanting territory.
Twice-told, Cadnum’s narratives are newly revealed through their supporting casts, from the giant’s wife who simply wants Jack to bugger off (so she can continue collaborating on poetry), to a bratty, unrepentant Gingerbread Man sounding off on overprotective parents, meddlesome neighbors, and untrustworthy foxes.
Praise for Can’t Catch Me
“Concise writing cuts to the heart of the matter in this droll collection from National Book Award–finalist Cadnum (The Book of the Lion), whether it be a certain gingerbread boy’s overbearing parents in the title story or a ghostly Ophelia bent on her own secret revenge in ‘Or Be to Not.’ Even the most urbane bears can be brought low when entrapped by a crusading pro-human Goldilocks in ‘Bear It Away,’ while a certain giant’s wife manages to create a happy ending after a young thief escapes by beanstalk in ‘Mrs. Big.’ ‘Medusa,’ ‘Daphne,’ and ‘Give Him the Eye’ offer stark insight into the behavior of Greek gods and goddesses as well as the brutal side of love. Meanwhile, elves, no matter how gifted, find little welcome when faced with human suspicions in ‘Naked Little Men’ and ‘Elf Trap,’ while ‘Together Again’ gives the truth behind that old nursery rhyme about a lord named Humpty Dumpty. Both adult and YA readers will enjoy this quirky assemblage of 18 traditional tales with a modern edge.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Can’t Catch Me and Other Twice-Told Tales by Michael Cadnum is an outstanding collection of interesting and insightful lore drawn from history and retold with a modernized and compelling philosophical perspective of contemporary wisdom and collective post-situation knowledge.”
—Midwest Book Review
“Turns the familiar on its head, from basilisk to gingerbread man, and makes you forget, for a few charmed moments, that these aren’t quite the tales you thought you knew.”
—Patricia A. McKillip, author, Wonders of the Invisible World
“Cadnum delves more into the psyche of the protagonist than fairy tales ever do.”
—BookLoons
About the author
Michael Cadnum is best known for his young-adult adventure novels, including In a Dark Wood, The Leopard Sword, and Seize the Storm. The Book of the Lion was a National Book Award finalist, a Los Angeles Times Book Award finalist, and an Owl Creek Book Award winner. Cadnum is a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship and the Helen Bullis Prize for his poetry.
Praise for Michael Cadnum
“Cadnum knocks us off our platitudes and sends us sliding elsewhere…and we are smoothly swept into a new field of perception.”
—Georgia Review
“Cadnum’s peerless historical fiction rewards readers of any age.”
—Smithsonian
Visit the Michael Cadnum website.
Bear It Away
Can’t Catch Me
Hungry
Mrs. Big
Give Him the Eye
Medusa
P-Bird
Or Be to Not
Ella and the Canary Prince
Toad-Rich
The Flounder’s Kiss
Bite the Hand
Daphne
Naked Little Men
Elf Trap
Together Again
Arrival
Gravity
Can’t Catch Me and Other Twice-Told Tales
Michael Cadnum
Now available in digital formats.
These deftly rearranged myths and fairy tales rekindle the excitement of adored childhood tales. These witty stories from an award-winning children’s author cleverly twist, turn, and veer off into unexpected, enchanting territory. Twice-told, the familiar narratives are newly revealed through the surprising perspectives of their supporting casts.
Can’t Catch Me and Other Twice-Told Tales
by Michael Cadnum
ISBN: Trade Paperback: 978-1-892391-33-9; Digital: 978-1-61696-274-6
Published: 2006
Available Format(s): Trade Paperback and Digital Books
Description
Available now in Digital Books!
“Turns the familiar on its head, from basilisk to gingerbread man, and makes you forget, for a few charmed moments, that these aren’t quite the tales you thought you knew.”
—Patricia A. McKillip, author of The Forgotten Beasts of Eld and Wonders of the Invisible World
Discover National Endowment for the Arts fellowship-recipient Michael Cadnum’s groundbreaking collection of deftly rearranged myths and fairy tales. Can’t Catch Me, featuring six original tales, rekindles the excitement of adored childhood adventures. These witty, perceptive tales cleverly twist, turn, and veer off into unexpected, enchanting territory.
Twice-told, Cadnum’s narratives are newly revealed through their supporting casts, from the giant’s wife who simply wants Jack to bugger off (so she can continue collaborating on poetry), to a bratty, unrepentant Gingerbread Man sounding off on overprotective parents, meddlesome neighbors, and untrustworthy foxes.
Praise for Can’t Catch Me
“Concise writing cuts to the heart of the matter in this droll collection from National Book Award–finalist Cadnum (The Book of the Lion), whether it be a certain gingerbread boy’s overbearing parents in the title story or a ghostly Ophelia bent on her own secret revenge in ‘Or Be to Not.’ Even the most urbane bears can be brought low when entrapped by a crusading pro-human Goldilocks in ‘Bear It Away,’ while a certain giant’s wife manages to create a happy ending after a young thief escapes by beanstalk in ‘Mrs. Big.’ ‘Medusa,’ ‘Daphne,’ and ‘Give Him the Eye’ offer stark insight into the behavior of Greek gods and goddesses as well as the brutal side of love. Meanwhile, elves, no matter how gifted, find little welcome when faced with human suspicions in ‘Naked Little Men’ and ‘Elf Trap,’ while ‘Together Again’ gives the truth behind that old nursery rhyme about a lord named Humpty Dumpty. Both adult and YA readers will enjoy this quirky assemblage of 18 traditional tales with a modern edge.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Can’t Catch Me and Other Twice-Told Tales by Michael Cadnum is an outstanding collection of interesting and insightful lore drawn from history and retold with a modernized and compelling philosophical perspective of contemporary wisdom and collective post-situation knowledge.”
—Midwest Book Review
“Turns the familiar on its head, from basilisk to gingerbread man, and makes you forget, for a few charmed moments, that these aren’t quite the tales you thought you knew.”
—Patricia A. McKillip, author, Wonders of the Invisible World
“Cadnum delves more into the psyche of the protagonist than fairy tales ever do.”
—BookLoons
About the author
Michael Cadnum is best known for his young-adult adventure novels, including In a Dark Wood, The Leopard Sword, and Seize the Storm. The Book of the Lion was a National Book Award finalist, a Los Angeles Times Book Award finalist, and an Owl Creek Book Award winner. Cadnum is a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship and the Helen Bullis Prize for his poetry.
Praise for Michael Cadnum
“Cadnum knocks us off our platitudes and sends us sliding elsewhere…and we are smoothly swept into a new field of perception.”
—Georgia Review
“Cadnum’s peerless historical fiction rewards readers of any age.”
—Smithsonian
Visit the Michael Cadnum website.
Bear It Away
Can’t Catch Me
Hungry
Mrs. Big
Give Him the Eye
Medusa
P-Bird
Or Be to Not
Ella and the Canary Prince
Toad-Rich
The Flounder’s Kiss
Bite the Hand
Daphne
Naked Little Men
Elf Trap
Together Again
Arrival
Gravity